Automated equipment has previously been proposed for mounting tires on vehicle wheels and for inflating the tires after mounting. These devices must be capable of handling a wide variety of wheel sizes and types, and corresponding tire sizes and types. Typically, the wheel is moved through a plurality of stations to accomplish different steps in the tire mounting process. One step in mounting a tire on a wheel involves the lubrication or soaping of the tire and/or wheel prior to mounting of the tire onto the wheel. Soaping lubricates the tire and/or wheel so that the tire will not be damaged when it is mounted, and so that the wheel will properly engage the bead seats when it is inflated.
Although a variety of devices have been proposed for automatically soaping or lubricating wheels and/or tires, the previously proposed devices have been relatively complicated in operation and also have not been adaptable to handle a wide variety of wheel sizes and types, and corresponding tire sizes and types. In many devices, it is necessary to reorient the tire prior to soaping or lubricating the tire beads. After lubrication, the tire must be returned to the conveying orientation for further processing. Typically, additional equipment is required to move the tire from the conveying orientation to the lubricating orientation, and then to reorient the tire back to the conveying orientation.